Privacy Policy
Who We Are
The Centre for Advanced Social Science Methods (CASSM) is a research centre based in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford. The University of Oxford is the data controller for personal data processed in connection with CASSM's activities.
For enquiries about your personal data in connection with CASSM activities, you may contact us directly at cassm@politics.ox.ac.uk. The University's data protection registration number is Z6648902. The University Data Protection Officer can be contacted at data.protection@admin.ox.ac.uk.
Personal Data We Collect
We may collect and process personal data in the following circumstances:
- Contact enquiries — name and email address when you contact us directly.
- Event and training registration — name, institutional affiliation, and contact details when you register for CASSM workshops, seminars, or training programmes.
- Research participation — data collected as part of formally approved research studies, under separate ethics and data management protocols.
- Website analytics — aggregated, anonymised data about how visitors use this website (no personal identifiers are collected via this site).
How We Use Your Personal Data
We use personal data to:
- Respond to your enquiries and provide information you have requested.
- Administer events, workshops, and training programmes.
- Send updates about CASSM activities where you have provided consent or there is a legitimate interest in doing so.
- Comply with legal and regulatory obligations.
Legal Basis for Processing
The University of Oxford processes personal data under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. The legal bases we rely on include:
- Legitimate interests — for responding to enquiries and administering activities directly related to CASSM's research and training mission.
- Consent — where you have explicitly agreed to receive communications from us.
- Legal obligation — where we are required by law to process personal data.
Data Sharing
We do not sell or rent personal data to third parties. Personal data may be shared with other departments of the University of Oxford where necessary to fulfil the purposes described above. Where we use third-party services (for example, event registration platforms), we ensure these comply with UK data protection law.
Data Retention
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, and in accordance with the University of Oxford's retention schedules. Contact enquiry data is typically retained for no longer than two years from the date of the last communication.
Your Rights
Under UK GDPR, you have rights including the right to access, correct, or request deletion of your personal data; the right to object to or restrict processing; and the right to data portability. To exercise any of these rights, please contact the University's Information Compliance team:
If you are unhappy with how your personal data has been handled, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Changes will be reflected on this page with a revised review date.